Spotting projectile



pi'. l0, 1923. n 1,451,395

o. M. HUsTvEDT ET Al.

sPoTTNG-PROJECTILE original Filed Aug. so, 1920 2 sheets-shee 1 n. ",`...|l \o f w WQWML lq A I y .I 'l l r l I :1/'1" I C 41. www@ Apr. l0, 1923. EASLSQS O M. HUsTvEDT ET Al. l

SPOTTING PROJECTILE Original Filed Aug. 50, 1920 y2 sheets-sheet 2 QW: QQZS Patented Apr. l0, i923.

siren stares 'maar carica.

OLAF M. HUSTVEDT AND HARRY J. NICHOLS, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

SPOTTING PROJECTILE.

Application filed August 30, 1920, Serial No. 408,407. Renewed August 29, 1922. Serial No. 585,079.

To a-ZZ whom it may concern.'

Be it known that we, OLAF M. HUsrvnor and HARRY J. NICHOLS, citizens of the United States, and residents of lVashington, District of' Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spotting Projectiles, of which the following is a specifica-tion.

This invention relates to improvements y in projectiles and more particularly to that type which, from their use may be called spotting projectiles. The projectiles, after being fired and upon striking the surface of a body of water or any obstructions are so constructed and arranged as to discharge a body of chemicals which produce a colored signal according t0 the materials or ingredients used.

This type of projectile is of particular 2@ value in military operations in identifying the spot where a particular projectile strikes when guns are fired in salvo, thereby' enabling fire control to be regulated very eX- vactly. It is of particular value in, calibrating the `several guns 'of a ship or battery. Heretofore no means of identifying the fall 'of shot from each individual 'gun when fired in salvo has been available, hence it has often occurred that when so fired the 90 shot from some guns has been found to 'fall widely apart from the other guns, thereby resulting in a large dispersion or pattern, rendering the battery less effective against hostile forces. The invention 85 herein described provides a means of identifying the fall of shot from each gun, therebypermitting the undesirable condition described kabove to be remedied by suitable measures of adjustment.

It is also of value in gunnery exercises in disclosing the fall of shot from each individual gun or turret, whether the shot strikes the target or not. It is -to be understood that heretofore in salvo firing, in tar' $5 get practice, only those shots which struck the target could be identified with certainty,

this identification being secured by painting the projectile with different colors, the

color vbeing rubbed off on .the target as the shot lpassed through. The invention herein described will enable the misses to be identified with as much certainty as the hits are now identified.

A' projectile of this type is also of Value in identifying the salvos of different vessupplied with projectiles giving signals of one color.

It is therefore one of the `objects of the present invention to overcome the objections above cited, and to provide a simple and practical construction which will enable the objects of the spotting shell to be realized in a reliable manner.

Broadly speaking, the invention provides means of ejecting various coloring materials, such as pigments, dyes and other chemicals from a projectile in such a way as to color the splash of the projectile, or to form a colored cloud of particles of the chemicals which float briefiy in the air, thereby producing a distinctive signal visible for long distances. Other objects will be in part obvious or apparent to those skilled in the art of gunnery or in part hereinafter more fully pointed out.

'Referring now to the drawings in detail showing two of various possible'embodiments of the invention and wherein like` parts are denoted by corresponding reference characters.

F iguret 1 illustrates one embodiment of the invention in which the'projectile is fitted with'an igniter adapted to be secured in the nose of the projectile.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of a projectile fittedto receive an igniter of the type generally known as a base fuse.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the method of use.

Referring to the drawings in detail and in particular to Figure 1, the numeral l indicates the shell body of the projectile which is'fitted with a detachable base plug 2 secured in the shell'body in any suitable manner, as for example, in Figure 1 by anti-shear pins 12 and'anti-twist pins 13 and in Figure 2 by the screw joint 3 which los nearest rovides less threads than are generallyfemloyed. The shell body is also tted withy ,fax or cement. The space in front of the artition 9 is occupied by an explosive 7 which may be of any desired compositionI The space to the rearward of the partition is occupied by coloring material 8 which lay be of various compositions' to secure istinctive coloration.Y While it is to be nderstood that-theinvention is not to be estricted as to the coloring material em- `loyed, it is suggested that pigments comionly employed in paint making, such as ltramarine, chrome yellow, chrome green, ermillion, etc., may be used for they have een found to produce the desired effect, as ave also dyestuds of various natures, both oluble and insoluble in water, as well as yestuiis mixed with diluent materials.

In Figure 2 is shown an embodiment of his projectile in which an igniter or detoator of the type known as a base fuse is sed. ln this embodiment the ejection harge 7 is separated :from the coloring maerial 8 by a metallic diaphragm 10, which ts a threaded seat in the shell cavity and .as a threaded orifice to receive any desired ype of igniter or detonator, ll.

In Figure 3 there is shown a method rhereby the determination of the errors of un `ire is made possible in which it may be ssumed that a broadside of four heavy alibre guns are fired in salvo at a target. t may be further assumed that three of hese guns shoot accurately-and will give repectively green, yellow, and blue splashes. The fourth gun, however, may be assumed o be shooting inaccurately and the splash i the projectile to be colored red. lt is, f course, to be understood that before lirng each gun is loaded with a projectile .aving a known coloring compound and in his manner the inaccurate gun can at once e detected, and the nature and amount of ts error determined. A. similar process, of ourse, may be followed out whereby the letermination of the errors of collective fun re of a plurality of `ships or batteries s made possible. In the carrying out of uc-h a process it is preferable to useA the ame coloring pigments in all the shells fired rom one ship or battery as distinguished rom those of another.

It is thus seen that the present invention rovides a simple and practical projecile or an attachment for a projectile adaptd to accomplish among others the objects ierein set forth. From the various colors used in different projectiles it is possible to note exactly where each projectile lands from each gun when the guns are fired in salvo thus permitting a calibration of the guns with less cost, in much less time and with greater accuracy than has heretofore been possible.

Without further analysis, t-he foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of this invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applicationswithout omitting certain features that, from the standpoint of the prior art, Ifairly constitute essential characteristicsof the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and, therefore,I such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims.

What 'we claim is j l. A projectile provided with a chamber, a colored pigment within said chamber and means within the projectile to eject and disperse the colored pigment at the moment of impact of the projectile.

2. In a projectile, in combination, a removable base block providing a chamber containing a lcolor compound, an explosive charge relatively forward of said chamber, and means for igniting or detonating the explosive charge and ejecting the color compound from the base lof the projectile on impact.

3. A projectile having an elongated chamber, a removable block closing said chamber atv the base of the projectile, an ejecting charge, and a color compound interposed between the ejecting charge and the base block and means for igniting or detonating the ej ecting charge on impact whereby the color compound is ejected at the moment of impact to indicate where the projectile fell.

4.-. A projectile provided with a chamber, a colored pigment within said chamber and means to eject and disperse the colored pigment at the moment of impact of the projectile, said means including an' ejecting charge located forwardly of the pigment whereby the pigment is ejected through the rear of the projectile.

.5. A. projectile provided with a chamber, a colored pigment within said chamber, means to eject and disperse the colored pigment at the moment of impact of the projectile, said means including an ejecting charge located forwardly of the pigment whereby the pigment is ejected through the rear of the Aprojectile and impact fuse mechanisms adapted to ignite or detonate said ejecting charge.

6. rlhe herein described method whereby determination of the errors of salvo gun lire is made possible which consists in load ing each gun with a projectile 'having the known diusible pigment adapted to color lin the splash or make a colored cloud on impact, firing said guns in salvo and identifying the fall of the projectile from each gun by the different colored splashes or clouds produced by the differently colored di'usible pigments. Y

7. The herein described method whereby determination of the errors of collective gun fire is made possible which consists in loading the guns of each battery with projectiles having the same known diffusible pigment adapted to color the splashes or make a colored cloud on impact, firing the guns in salvo from all batteries and observing and noting the fall of the salvo from each battery by the different colored splashes or clouds produced by the differently colored difusible pigments.

8. The herein described method of identifying the fall of projectiles of individual guns tired in salvo which consists in the steps of firing from each gun a projectile having a known diusible pigment adapted to make a colored cloud or splash on impact and identifying the fall of the projectile from each gun by the different colored clouds or pigments produced by the differently colored splashes.

9. In a projectile provided with a chamber, a coloring matter within said chamber, and means to eject said matter at the moment of impact of the projectile.

10. In a projectile provided with a'chamber, a coloring matter within said chamber, and means to eject said mattei' rearwardly from said chamber upon impact of the projectile with its objective.

' Signed at Washington, District of Columbia,-'this 12 day of July, 1920.

oLAF M. 'HUsTvEDr HARRY J. NrcHoLs. 

